My massive 2017 cruise around the canals of England is drawing to a close and in this episode I take on the massive 21-lock Hatton flight again – this time with a Special Guest Crew. After that it’s a quick hop around Warwick and Leamington, up and down some more locks and the end is in sight.

It’s the penultimate vlog from my Great 2017 Cruise and a short hop up the South Stratford canal from Preston Bagot, through Lowsonford and up to Kingswood Junction at Lapworth. Here I turned east along the Lapworth Link and out onto the Grand Union canal before pausing for the night.

On a glorious day in mid-June I departed from the canal basin at Stratford-upon-Avon and headed north up the South Stratford canal. En route I ducked under low tunnels, breathed in for narrow bridges, held my breath on an aqueduct, saw some unusual wildlife and showed off my pasty white legs. All of those treats are included in the video.

Filmed way, way back in the dizzying summer scorcher of mid-June, this is the final section of my trip up the River Avon in Warwickshire, from Offenham lock (where the last vlog ended), to the canal basin at Stratford-upon-Avon. Along the way there was lovely scenery, gentle river tranquility, and a plethora of ice cream at the end.

This is not a vlog. Consider it a bonus video that I happened to have time to compile and put up as a bit of extra footage. There’s no music, no commentary, no captions – this is all deliberate. It’s just the canal views and the “music” of the wildlife and the engine.

Here’s a vlog of two more days of cruising up the Avon, from Comberton Quay where the last vlog ended, through Pershore and Evesham, and up to Offenham. I went through a lot of locks, all of which were rather turbulent and one of which had a puzzle to keep you guessing.

This is the start of my trip up the River Avon from Tewkesbury to Stratford-upon-Avon. In this episode I leave Tewkesbury and go past three sailing clubs as well as the mooring our family used to use at Bredon, before tackling two ferocious locks and mooring for the night in a tranquil corner of the countryside at Comberton Quay.

Here’s a quick overview of the hasty oil and filter change that I did on the boat while waiting at Tewkesbury lock for the lock-keeper to return from lunch (as seen at the end of the last vlog). I’m not claiming this is a “how to” or “tutorial” because it was a bit shambolic but I got the job done and it’s fine, so it might be of use or interest to someone perhaps.

After 48 hours on the visitor mooring at Netherwich Basin in Droitwich Spa, I reversed my path up the Droitwich Barge Canal and headed back out downstream on the River Severn. I went through Worcester, past Upton-on-Severn and into the River Avon at Tewkesbury, having executed dramatic overtaking manoeuvres. battled loose logs and coped with any army of tiny spiders.